Ribbons
by TheLittleLight
Summary: Tenten is not happy when Neji accidentally breaks one of her ribbons while sparring.


I don't own anything. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

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><p>Neji sat in the cool shade of a tree meditating. He was waiting for his teammate to arrive. She wasn't late. She was rarely late. He was just early. He was always early.<p>

Neji was a strong believer in planning ahead, making sure he was prepared for anything. Should something delay him on his way to the training grounds, at least he would make it on time. Of course that never happened, so he was always early.

He took slow, deep breaths and listened to the environment. His eyes were closed and he was completely relaxed. The breeze swayed the trees, birds sang in the air and he focused on the beat of his heart, completely in tune with nature.

With eyes closed, he pictured his teammate, wondering what her hair might look like if it was released from those ever-present buns. He longed to run his hand through her locks. He wanted to feel the soft tresses between his fingers. He had no doubt they would feel wonderful.

Even more than that, he wondered how her heart-shaped lips would feel like against his own. _She must taste like heaven_.

The truth was, when Neji meditated, the image of Tenten would set his mind to rest. The thought of her calmed his nerves and he felt entirely at ease. She was perfect in that way. She was the only one who could get his guard down. He didn't mind that.

In the midst of the birds' songs and the leaves' dancing, he heard her soft footsteps approaching; she was right on time. He felt his heart skip a beat as she neared.

'Good morning, Neji. Sorry I'm late.' Her voice chimed. He loved the sound of her voice. He had no doubt her face held a grin. Her cheerfulness was infectious and he felt himself smile as he pictured her beauty in his mind; his eyes remained closed.

'You're not late; I was early, but I forgive you.' He couldn't help teasing the kunoichi. It put him in good spirits before sparring. His smile gave way to a smirk. He opened his eyes to see her reaction. While her face displayed indignation, mirth shone clearly through her eyes. Neji was absolutely certain that he had fallen in love with her.

She recovered quickly though. She brought her face down to level with his, their lips mere centimeters apart. Her eyes twinkled as she said, 'Really, that easily? Aren't you even going to punish me first?'

His eyes mirrored her mischief as he replied, 'There will be plenty of time to punish you when we're out at the field. We both know the outcome, why waste time now?'

She laughed and stood up straight. Neji mourned the sudden distance but he did not show it. He hid behind his smirking façade.

'Don't get too cocky, Hyuga. I have beaten you before.' She retorted as she proceeded to prepare her scrolls and weapons. Neji simply smiled at this and took this as his cue to stand and make his own preparations. He watched her as she stretched, marveling at the way her body moved. She must have caught him staring because she swiftly looked away with a faint blush adorning her cheeks.

They finished their preparations in a comfortable silence and signaled to each other that they were ready. They got into position and began their battle.

Knowing that Tenten's strength fell in long-ranged attacks, he searched for ways to lure her in for hand-to-hand combat. Tenten was fully aware of his strategy and would not leave him the required opening to draw her closer to him. She used everything in her power to keep him at a comfortable distance; scrolls, kunai and shuriken flew everywhere. The ground was stripped of grass in the areas Neji activated his Kaiten.

Their fight continued for a while and Neji almost managed to bring her close but she was fast and in her hurry, jumped to a nearby branch. She pulled out another scroll and summoned a rain of metal upon Neji. Once again, he used his Kaiten in defense.

Due to the nature of this jutsu, he had no idea where the weapons would deflect. Dozens of kunai flew back towards Tenten with their sharp edges threatening to mar her skin and add to her many scars. She dodged most of the kunai except for one, which technically missed her but snagged one of the ribbons in her hair. As Neji slowed down, he saw the right side of Tenten's hair had been released from their restraints watched as her chocolate hair cascaded down her shoulder. He was caught in a trance.

Shock was plastered on her face as she caught the now-shredded ribbon in her palm. She turned her attention to the man before her and she was not happy. She glared at him, 'Now was that really necessary?' He understood as well as she that it was not his fault that the ribbon became a casualty of the battle but she had to blame someone.

'Sorry,' he muttered, 'I didn't mean to.' Truth was, he wasn't sorry, and a faint smirk let Tenten know. He enjoyed seeing her hair down, granted it was only half, but it was good enough. She was beautiful and he savored the moment, made sure to burn the image into his memory. Not that it would be easy to forget. The image would most likely haunt his dreams.

'I am gonna make you pay for this, Hyuga.'

Only then did he realize that he was in trouble. His eyes called upon the Byakugan once again, but what chance did he have against a grudging Tenten?

Not much.

She attacked him from all sides with all the weapons she had in hand and Neji found himself in a tricky situation. He realized that she was leading him deeper and deeper into the forest for a reason but it was the only way he could move to avoid the onslaught of weapons.

Then all of a sudden, it stopped. His Byakugan detected no movements nearby and the metal had stopped raining down on him. _What is she trying to do?_ A kunai sailed past his face and he easily dodged it by taking a step back.

_Got him._

Tenten unleashed dozens of shuriken from all around him. Neji's only defense was his Kaiten. Safely hidden behind a tree with her chakra concealed, she heard him begin his rotation. _Now!_ She sent her chakra into wire strings that Neji had snagged onto himself when he stepped back to avoid that single kunai. Upon finishing his rotation, the trees were decorated with various trajectory weapons and Neji was on his knees, tangled in several wire strings infused with chakra.

'Hm. Worked like a charm.' Tenten dropped behind him from above. Neji tried to turn his head but his movements were restricted. She walked around him to his front, easily moving between the near-invisible wires. Neji looked up at her, his eyes picked up on the wires around her fingers. _She had me all along._

It was Tenten's turn to smirk. 'I win!' she said, not bothering to mask her pride. Neji had no choice but to accept defeat and he quietly agreed that the victory belonged to her. He motioned for her to release him (as much as he could, his movement was restricted to a surprising degree) but she wasn't done yet.

She leaned close to his face, closer than before, with a kunai in hand. He was expecting her to cut the strings but their proximity was unnerving him. He was virtually helpless and she had a weapon in hand. Several dirty images entered his mind and he mentally told himself off for thinking of her in such a way. Her actions weren't helping with his inappropriate thoughts because she kept leaning closer and closer.

She reached behind him with her left hand and took hold of his low ponytail. With the kunai in her right hand, she encircled his body almost embracing him. Their faces were millimeters apart. They could feel each other's breaths in their faces. Neji couldn't deny that he had the strongest urge to lean forward and kiss her.

Then he realized that his hair felt different; the weight shifted. He looked down and saw that his hair was no longer bound. He looked back up to see Tenten holding a small broken band between her fingers.

'We're even now.' Her voice was calm and steady. The smirk was still on her face as if their closeness did not bother her. Neji's face felt warm and he knew that he must have been blushing because Tenten's smirk only grew. This only served to embarrass Neji more, aware that they changed positions.

'All right, we're even. Now let me go.'

Tenten laughed, 'Geez, Neji. Can't handle a little _light_ teasing?'

_Light? If I weren't bound I would have jumped you._ 'Hn.'

With a flick of her kunai, all the wires snapped and Neji shrugged them off. Tenten started gather her weapons when a she heard a kunai whiz past her ear. Before she knew it, the left side of her hair fell upon her shoulders.

She was about to turn, ready to scold Neji again, when strong arms held her in place. She froze in her spot, letting his scent fill her lungs. She tried to deny it but it was too _comfortable_ to be in his arms.

'It looks good like this.' he said, his tone devoid of sarcasm or any teasing intention. He sounded genuine. She had to look up at his face to see if he really meant it. His eyes reassured her that he was completely serious.

'T-thanks.' She only had to tilt her head back and he could easily lean down to kiss her…

So she did.

And it was one of the most incredible sensations. Neji savored her lips until his need intensified. He became greedy and his tongue shot out, yearning to discover more about her alluring lips. She happily obliged.

They broke away panting. Neji's head was spinning, two fantasies coming true at the same time. It was almost too much. She reached up and stroked his cheek.

'Don't think I'm not mad at you for breaking my ribbons,' she said, 'that was my favorite set.'

'I promise I'll buy you all the ribbons you want.'

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><p>Inspiration: "Foreplay" by ode2sokka on deviantart<p>

[http:/ ode2sokka. deviantart. com/art /Foreplay- 204744904 ]

It's Super cute :3


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